missionary

[ mish-uh-ner-ee ]

/ ˈmɪʃ əˌnɛr i /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR missionary ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural mis·sion·ar·ies. Also mis·sion·er.

a person sent by a church into an area to carry on evangelism or other activities, as educational or hospital work.

a person strongly in favor of a program, set of principles, etc., who attempts to persuade or convert others.

a person who is sent on a mission.

adjective

pertaining to or connected with religious missions.

engaged in such a mission, or devoted to work connected with missions.

reflecting or prompted by the desire to persuade or convert others: the missionary efforts of political fanatics.

characteristic of a missionary.

Nearby words

Origin of missionary

From the New Latin word missiōnārius, dating back to 1635–45. See mission, -ary

Related formsnon·mis·sion·ar·y, adjective, noun, plural non·mis·sion·ar·ies.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for missioner

The qualities which he thinks requisite in a missioner to Japan.
The Works of John Dryden, Volume XVI. (of 18)|John Dryden
There was a purpose to it all: the light, the audible dropping of the heavy key, the swift going of the Missioner.
The Courage of Marge O'Doone|James Oliver Curwood
The Missioner was silent for some moments, as if lost in a reverie.
The Courage of Marge O'Doone|James Oliver Curwood
"I justify it by the needs of human nature," the Missioner continued.
The Altar Steps|Compton MacKenzie

The clever women rattled their beads and writhed their necks like angry snakes without effect upon the Missioner.
The Altar Steps|Compton MacKenzie

British Dictionary definitions for missioner

missioner

/ (ˈmɪʃənə) /

noun

a less common name for missionary

a person heading a parochial mission in a Christian country

missionary

/ (ˈmɪʃənərɪ) /

noun plural -aries

a member of a religious mission

adjective

of or relating to missionariesmissionary work

resulting from a desire to convert people to one's own beliefsmissionary zeal

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for missioner

missionary

1650s, from missionary (adj.). Missionary position attested by 1963, said to have been coined by Kinsey (1948), who identified its origin in work done by Polish anthropologist Bronisław Malinowski in Melanesia in the 1920s; allegedly from the term used by South Pacific peoples to describe what Christian missionaries promoted to replace their local variations. By late 1960s it became the general term for this type of sex, formerly also known as the English-American position.

missionary

adj.

"sent on a mission," 1640s, from Modern Latin missionarius "pertaining to a mission," from Latin missionem (see mission).

missionary

noun, plural mis·sion·ar·ies. Also mis·sion·er.

adjective

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Nearby words

Origin of missionary

Examples from the Web for missioner

missioner

noun

missionary

noun plural -aries

adjective

missionary

missionary